


All things cute and organic (aka the Brotherly Bonding incident)

by Tenebrum



Series: The Settlement Cronicles [1]
Category: Transformers - All Media Types
Genre: Banter, Brotherly Affection, Fluff, Gen, OC's Galore - Freeform, One Shot, Sibling Bonding, Team as Family, and one mention of a dead body, midnight inspiration strikes again, no knowledge of Transformers required, one scene of national geographics-style animal death (aka natural), the t rating is for two things
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-31
Updated: 2021-01-31
Packaged: 2021-03-18 02:33:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,976
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29110860
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tenebrum/pseuds/Tenebrum
Summary: It is known throughout the base that Hauler loves organics. This gives his brother an idea: send pictures of the organics he encounters in his travels back to Hauler at the base! The problem is: they have Very Different definitions of cute. He does get it right...eventually.
Series: The Settlement Cronicles [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2135910
Kudos: 3





	All things cute and organic (aka the Brotherly Bonding incident)

**Author's Note:**

> This is self-indulgent fluff for my OC's. There's a lot more backstory to them, but I didn't want this to be heavyer than it should be. The point of this fic is to be enjoyable without any prior knowledge.  
> This was also written in 2 hours on a Friday night while hopped up on caffeine.  
> Many thanks to my Beta reader!

There are few things less inconspicuous as a Cybertronian sitting in the middle of a field. So it was easy for Bulwark to find his brother sitting near the organic forest near the base. His blue form appeared to be hunched over something.  
\- What have ya got there Haul?  
\- Please be more quiet, you are scaring them! - he chastises him in a hushed tone.  
Intrigued, the bounty hunter steps closer to the blue truck as quietly as possible. What he sees in his brother’s lap makes him raise an eyebrow ridge. They appear to be...some kind of fuzzy organic creatures? They are curled up in a pile, and seemingly enjoying the heat emanating from Hauler’s cassis.  
“So, how did you find these?” he comms the younger mech. Is that a blush he sees gathering on the other’s cheek? “I like coming out here and a week or so ago I fell asleep here. And these little ones just really like heat and vibrations, and, well… they are really cute….” Bulwark chuckles quietly. “Don’t worry, I think I know you well enough to be aware of your affinity for anything tiny and organic. Just don’t bring them near the base otherwise GS will throw a fit.” Hauler rolls his eyes. “I do believe I know Greenscreen enough to be aware of the things she definitely will not tolerate, and organics in the base is one of them.” Well...he definitely can’t argue with that assessment…  
“Anyways, am I needed back on the base?” The navy mech shakes his helm. “No, I came to say goodbye. I got a job in an orn, so I need to get going.” His brother’s optics and EM field communicate everything that they won’t say: fear for his safety, and pride and gratefulness, for doing this to help keep the communities safe. “Please come back in one piece, I don’t want to sit through one more of GS’s rants on how reckless you are WHILE you are unconscious.” Bulwark grins at the image, he heard from Critter about the incident and how everyone but Hauler made a point to avoid the medbay at all costs at that time. He claps the truck on the shoulder affectionately (being careful not to jostle the organic creatures in his lap). “I’ll be sure to try, and if not, I’ll at least try to bring back all of my pieces”.

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Bounty hunting as a profession takes one all over the galaxy. Kinda like a vacation...but with a lot more murder, he muses as the bubbling acid pool behind him slowly dissolves the body of his target, their head already secured in his sub-space compartment for confirming the kill to his employer. The planet itself is covered in marshlands which are peppered with natural acid holes. The flora and fauna evolved to take advantage of this, trees feeding off the sludge the acid dissolves organic matter into and animals developing specialized hides/citin coverings to be immune to the effects of the acid. This makes places like this the perfect murder scenes, no body left. There is a reason why his target fled here, thinking him being made of metal, he would never come somewhere like this. Bad news for his former target: He doesn’t have much self-preservation.  
But the fact that even in this harsh environment, life thrives, reminds him of his brother and his love for organics. So, as he starts walking back to his ship, he takes pictures and videos of these creatures: from the carnivorous plants to the predators lurking in the acid pools, ready to pull their unsuspecting prey into their painful death. He’s going to send them to Hauler when he gets back to the ship. After all, these are also organics, so he will surely like them.

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The sound of screaming is not a good sound under any circumstances, but in the middle of an otherwise peaceful day? It is especially concerning. Therefore when Greenscreen hears the sound of her assistant in distress, she rushes through the base, bots jumping out of her way in such a hurry they practically flatten themselves to the wall. As she arrives at Hauler’s habsuite, she is already mentally running through the situations that could have occured. But there is no-one in the room beside the terrified mech, and his still open datapad lying on the floor. Closer inspection reveals the picture on the datapad, which depicts some sourd of organic creature slowly (and most likely painfully) being consumed by a plant using acid (a fascinating concept really, and one that could have some great utility as a weapon, but she could see how it would not sit well with the soft-sparked truck). She picks up the pad and reads the message attached to the picture: Heya bro! Look at these organics, I’ve never seen anything like these! I thought you might like to see them! :D  
Of course....she sighs….looks like Bulwark tried to do something nice for his brother...and missed the mark entirely. She is 100% sure this was not made in bad faith, BW loves his little brother but he doesn’t have the same...interests as his more gentle brother. So she takes a breath and replies to the message: “Please avoid pictures containing animal death in front of your brother. For the sake of his mental health and to avoid me rerouting your aft-port to your intake.”  
That ought to deter him...now to try and comfort the big softie. It looks like it’s time for a movie night, Hauler has been asking for one for a while, and she does need to reassure the base that she didn’t just straight-up kill someone for scaring Hauler.

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Some people think that Bulwark is too reckless and aggressive to learn anything, but the fact is: if someone is not able to learn from his own, and other’s mistakes they will NOT last long as a bounty hunter. Just because he tends to use brute force to solve his problems, it doesn’t mean he can’t also use his knowledge of his quarry to anticipate their movements and actions. But that is another advantage: people tend to underestimate him. Like he wouldn’t have seen the double cross coming from the employer. He takes the scenic way back to his ship, the crackling of the flames consuming the warehouse behind him providing a great soundtrack.  
He makes it halfway to the ship before stumbling into something...peculiar. It is one of the planet’s larger predators. A lizard-like creature with four legs and a powerful-looking tail. It appears to have also noticed him, and is currently seizing him up for a fight. While the lizard is trying to figure out if it’s worth trying to attack this big shiny...creature, Bulwark accesses the information he downloaded about this planet. The creature is a Kreek, the apex predator of the planet. And while impressive in size (for an organic) it has no means to actually cause harm to him, mostly because of his thick armour plating. As he finishes his assessment, the Kreek apparently finds him either a suitable prey or a large enough threat, and gets up on its hind legs in an attempt to intimidate him. It might have worked, as this actually puts the creature by about a helm above him. This gives him an idea. He grins and engages his camera, then sinks into a grappling stance. The Kreek takes it as the challenge it is, and lunges. Bulwark meets the reptile mid-lunge and tackles it (while being careful not to cause major damage, after all, one of them is made of decidedly sturdier materials than the other). The creature, while confused about their prey’s methods of fighting back, tries it’s hardest to get their jaws around their opponent. This ultimately results in both of them on the ground, the Kreek confusedly gnawing on one of his shoulder guards, while he is chuckling. Safe in the knowledge that the predator will be preoccupied with the plating for a while, Bulwark takes out his datapad and snaps a picture ( a so-called “selfie” as Applause has called it). He sends the picture and the video to Hauler, and settles in to wait until the reptile eventually gets bored of his tough snack.

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Hauler had a few reservations about opening the message his brother had sent. But in the end, he IS safe in the knowledge that very few people would go against one of Greenscreen’s threats (Always fear the medic) so he opens the attachment. What he finds is...confusing to say the least. The picture is of a grinning Bulwark laying on the ground, an enormous organic predator behind him, seemingly very confused why it's prey is not crying out in pain despite them biting down on it’s shoulder. The more he looks at the picture...the more he finds it funny, and really, it wouldn’t be his brother if he didn’t at least TRY to wrestle the biggest predator of the planet if given the chance. He also appreciates the fact that BW clearly took care not to seriously harm the organic. So he saves the picture to his device with a smile.

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Something is missing. At least, that’s the feeling that Greenscreen was getting all day. Something...but she just couldn’t put her finger on it. Then, as she is handing the shift over to Flutter it hits her: she has not seen Hauler all day. Now, it’s not uncommon for him to be absent for most of the day, he is mostly needed in the medbay if there’s a need for someone to do the heavy lifting, but even then, he makes a point to check in every once in a while. So, she makes her way to his usual haunts, but no one has seen the gentle giant on the base. His berthroom is her last stop. And there he is, laying on the floor clutching a pillow and...crying? She mentally runs a checklist of the most likely candidates for this crime and the best way to discreetly dispose of them when she notices his EM field which is radiating….joy? Now even more confused, she steps closer and notices his datapad. Mentally putting the pieces together, she picks up the pad and studies the open picture. It is of Bulwark sitting in a lush meadow, covered in multi-colored fluff balls? On closer inspection the fluff balls appear to be some sort of organics, happily nuzzling the hard plates of his armour. The message reads: Heya Bro! I think I found some distant relatives of the organics on V-45 that you like. They enjoy the current projected by our EM fields. I asked one of the natives to take the picture. I would smuggle one or two back for you, but I know how you feel about taking creatures out of their natural habitats, so I’ll refrain from doing so. Instead I’ll take enough pictures to last you a while. Hope you like them :D  
She takes a look at the mech currently sitting on the floor, apparently so overcome with joy that he is crying, and softly sighs while shaking her head. These boys… she sends a message back and with that, she brings the thermal sheet from the berth over to the blue mech, and settles down beside him, slinging the sheet over his shoulders. He peeks out from behind the pillow, noticing her presence.  
She chuckles and asks:  
\- So, what do you say we go through the rest of the pictures your brother sent.  
He responds with enthusiastic nodding, his vocalizer apparently failing him. She leans closer to his frame and opens the attached folder. Lightyears away, a matching datapad lights up with an incoming message. It simply reads: “You did good.”

**Author's Note:**

> Please leave your thoughts in the comments. I'm planning on doing more one shots like this, exploring the other characters.  
> As always, if you want to give me a straigh shot of seratonin, but don't feel like writing a comment, leave a "<3" below.


End file.
